Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt holds a media briefing on the upcoming election (Screen capture from state website live stream)
In his final daily briefing before the Nov. 5 election, Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt urged Pennsylvanians to have confidence in the results, even if the vote count continues into the following days.
“I’ll make two commitments to you today,” Schmidt said. “First, that Pennsylvania’s Nov. 5 election will be free, fair, safe and secure; and second, that all registered voters will have the opportunity to make their voice heard.”
Unlike many other states, Pennsylvania law prevents election officials from preparing mail ballots to be counted until the morning of the election. This makes it almost certain that not all votes will be counted by the end of election night. And because the election is predicted to be so close, it’s possible that no winner will be able to be declared. More than 2 million mail ballots have been returned and received already.
“The department is confident that counties will work diligently to count every eligible ballot cast, and we can’t predict what percentage of those votes will be counted on election night,” Schmidt said.
Counties will provide unofficial results to the state department once polls close, and will update them as counting continues. The latest information can be found on the Department of State’s official website.
Any ballot sent in the mail at this point onward will not be received by officials in time to be counted. If voters have mail ballots that they have not yet returned, they should only do so in person at their local election office or at another official drop point. Ballot drop locations can be found at vote.pa.gov
Voters who requested a mail ballot they have not yet returned, and would rather vote in person instead, must bring their mail ballot and official return envelope to their polling place and surrender it to the Judge of Elections. That may add time to the voting process.
Schmidt also warned voters to remain vigilant for election day mis- and disinformation, which may seek to dissuade Pennsylvanians from voting or undermine their faith in the process. The Department of State already has a website fact checking common election-related claims. Other suspicious claims should be fact checked on the Pennsylvania Department of State website or social media pages, or by contacting county election offices and checking their web pages for updates.
Any harassment or intimidation witnessed at the polls should be reported to that polling place’s Judge of Election. Voters can also contact their county elections office or district attorney’s office. They can also call the state voter hotline, 1-877-VOTE-PA
“Every registered voter has the right to cast their ballot without harassment or intimidation or discrimination,” Schmidt said.
Polls across the state will open on Nov. 5 at 7 a.m. and remain open until 8 p.m. Any voter who gets in line during this time has the right to cast their ballot.